The Ohio Democrat. (Logan, O. [Ohio]) 1886-1906, 1887-01-01
THE PRESIDENTS PENSIONS.

Tho LIberaiity of the Administration.
Coupled with Justice, TO tho Veterans
Of the War.
The sound. practical views advanced
by President Cleveland in his message
on the subject of pensions disposes of
the msstatemcnts and misrcpresenta-
tions so literally INDUCED in last sum-
mer by Republican Senators and MEM
bcrs of Congress and their home or
gans He appeals for an open
system OF pensioning, which will do
away with the pernicious political in
preston of tho Nations gratitude to-
resorting to Congress for u special
pension act to override the decision of
the well-organized bureau designed for
the examination and consideration of
all pension eases opens the door. as
the Prcdsident states, to the allowance
of questionable claims and presents
fraudulent claims in such guisc and so
surrounded by sentiment and patriotic
feeling tnat tney are hard to resist. In
his vetocs of some of those claims,
last summer. the President pointed out
in each instance the baseless character
of the claim. IL is idle to speak OF the
Nations ingratitude towards the vet
erans in view of the fact that it has
paid out more in pensions for disability
sustained in service than all the rest of
the world has paid in centuries.
The law protecting the pensioner has
been so carefully drawn that there can
be- no fear of injustice when the law is
fully carried out
Under former Administrations Of
the Pension Bureau, especially in 1884,
shameless misuse of power and gross
par,isanship perverted the patriotic in
tentions OF the people. To save votes
for Mr. Blaine the law was violate
and deserving pensi )ners were injured.
BY the political use of pensions SOL
dier's right to pension was made to
depend upon his service to the Repub-
lican party after the war and not
upon his services in the field for his
country. The boards OF examining
surgeons and the special examiners
were all Republicans, selected with a
view to their willingness to misuse
their power for partisan purposes. The
has prov ded against this abuse by Sc
lecting impartially from both parties.
The history of the Pension Bureau. un-
der Republican management, especial
ly in 1884, is an unbroken record OF
partisan prostitution of the noblest OF
our public agencies, of danger to our
free inst tut ons, of robbery of the tax
payers, degradation of the pens oner,
insult to the Union veterans and dis
grace to the responsible party.
The relief of the disabled veteran is
not an act of charity, but Of justice
and duty on the part of the Govern
ment. The President advances the
sound argument that when the veter-
ans who, having served their country
long and well, are reduced to destitu-
tion, not as in inc dent of their serv-
ice, but with advancing age, or
through sickness or misfortune, they
and their cause are entitled to the bene-
fit of u special act in each case. Under
such an act relief may be claimed rs
a right and according to law,
not, as sometimes happens now, in
evasion of it. The veterans are our
fellow citizens, and are equally inter
ested in the passage and faithful eXecu-
tion of wholesome laws. The charge
that the Democratic Administration
has been in any sense hostile to the
cause of pensioners is easily disproved
by the fact that more work has been
done during the past year by tho Pen
sion Bureau, Mt less cost to the Govern
ment, than during any previous yeal
since the bureau was organized. -
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